Hours after filing a suo moto case against YouTuber Sameer MD, who operates Kannada YouTube channel Dhoota: Sameer MD, the Ballari police tried to arrest him on March 5 night. The case was regarding a video titled Dharmasthala ‘Sowjanya Case’ uploaded on the channel last week in which Sameer spoke about the murder and rape of 17-year-old Sowjanya in Ujjire in 2012.
Sameer however got relief from the Karnataka High Court that stayed the police summons till March 12.
Justice M Nagaprasanna granted interim relief after noting that the police had failed to provide a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) along with the notice served to Sameer on March 5. The police notice had directed Sameer to appear for questioning the next day. The court said that furnishing a copy of the FIR is mandatory, citing a State government circular issued on December 30, 2024.
The Cowlbazar police in Ballari had registered the FIR suo motu on March 5 under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings). The complaint alleged that the video contained statements about Dharmasthala and the family managing the temple, potentially affecting religious sentiments.
However, Sameer, in his petition, argued that the video did not include copyrighted material, defamatory content, or hate speech but only discussed court rulings in the 2012 Sowjanya murder case, public concerns, and alleged shortcomings in the investigation. The petition also said that police attempted to arrest him on the night of March 5 but were prevented by his legal team, following which they issued a notice summoning him for questioning.
Sameer’s 39-minute video recalled the rape and murder of Sowjanya, a 17-year-old college student in Dharmasthala, Dakshina Kannada district. Santhosh Rao, whom the police arrested for the crime on October 9, 2012, was acquitted in July 2023, due to a botched investigation. Sowjanya’s family, however, maintained that the culprits were shielded by D Veerendra Heggade, the head of the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala, an influential temple.
Sameer released another video after the police slapped an FIR, saying that he was not afraid and that he had documents for the cases he had spoken about. “What has happened now is that, me being a Muslim guy, it has become wrong of me to talk about this issue. That’s how this is being portrayed.”
He also spoke about another video that he had uploaded on another channel about the Siddeshwara Swamy hills in Tumakuru and other Hindu religious places where he had “joined his palms” in prayer.
“Caste and religion are not required here. I am not against Hindus. If I were anti-Hindu, why would I speak about injustice done to a Hindu girl? Let’s talk about justice. That is our dharma.”
Editor’s Note: TNM has used Sowjanya’s name with written consent from her mother.